Improvement in pressure-regulators for water and steam apparatus



J.. c. HAGAN. HYDRANT AND PRESSURE REGULATOR.

No. 108,904. Patented Nov, 1,1870.

Y A E titular hm ,anni (time JOHN C. HAGAN, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

Letters'Patent No. 108,904, dated November l, 1870.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

I, J onN C. HAGAN, Iof Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements'in Cocks and Press# ure-Regulators for Water and Steam Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Nature mul Olgieets of the Invention.

. My invention consists- First, in a device by which, 011 the closure of a discharge-cock or valve, the pressure of uid will be automatically cut oi' from said cock or valve, or from the pipe to which it is attached.

.This I effect byvmeans of a piston carrying a stem, the end of which closes as a valve cna seat to which it is tted.

.A passage is provided to carry the tl'uid around the chamber in which the piston and its stem work, and into contact with the face of the piston, so that, while the discharge continues, the port will remain open; but when the discharge is stopped, the pressure upon -the valve being overcome bythe same pressnre'applied1 in the opposite direction -to the much larger area of the piston, the valve will be instantly closed, and will so remain until the piston isv again relieved of pressure by the opening of the discharge-cock.

Second, I apply in front of the piston, and connected therewith, a second valve,which, when the piston is closed, will cut ofi` communication between the chamber or cylinder' in which the first-named piston and valve work and the chamber in which the dischargecock is applied, or any desirable length of service-pipes connected with such chamber. By this means I am enabled to relieve the service-pipes entirely from l dead pressure, or from any pressure whatever, except during the period of discharge.

In the case of a hydrant I canthus use at any proper point a common drip or waste-way, to empty the said hydrant when the discharge is closed; and in the case of a try-cock or gauge-cock for boilers, or in many other forms of steam-cocks to which my inven tion is equally applicable, I can provide similar means for emptying the said steam-cock, and thus prevent any'accum'ulation of sediment, which is a well-known and fruitful cause of the destruction of such cocks and valves.

Third, the first escape of fluid from the chamber of the automatic pistoufvalve, which escape is necessary to permit the opening of said valve, may be provided for either by opening a small valve in the head of the v secondary valve-chamber through the medium of a wire or wire-cord attached to the discharge-faucet, so as to be pulled by the opening ot' said faucet and re- A leased by closing it; or the communication may be made through asmall tube opening through the .head v of the secondary yalve-chamher, extending to a'point near the discharge-cock, ,and there guarded by a'valve attached to the said cock, or otherwise arranged, so as to be opened by the opening of the latter, or it may be operated independently.

The device last referred to for this purpose may be found best adapted for steam apparatus, and the former for water, but each may be successfully used with either uid. v

In -order that vmy invention may be more fully and clearly understood, I will proceed to describe a mode 0i' applying it to hydrants. Its applicability to other water apparatus and to steam-pipes and cocks will clearly appear in the sequel.

Description of the .Accontpanytny Drawing.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus applied as a hydrant and pressure-regulator therefor. This shows the hydrant open,.and represents the tubu- 'lar connection between the cock and the chamber of the automatic valve.-

lFigure 2 is a section in the same plane, showing the hydrant closed, and representing a cord connecting the cock with a spring-valve in the secondary valve-chamber. f

Figure 43 isa transverse section in the planes indi-. cated by the lines x y, fig. 1. y y,

'Figure 4 is a sectional view, illustrating a'iri'ode o f applying 'a portion of my inventionto'branch,pipes, as hereinafter' explained.

General Description.

A may represent a branch of a main or service-pipe, adapted to withstand any necessary amount of pressure. l

may representa servicepipe connected with a luydra-nt, or with a simple faucet or other outlet.

In order to protect the service-pipe B and any of the pipes within a building from too great or continuous pressure, I introduce between A and B a compound valve-chamber, O D, formed with two cylinders of unequal diameter.

i A piston, E, fits within the larger cy-linder O, and a stem, F, formed in one piece with or securely attached to the said piston, fits and fills the smaller cylinder D.

Elastic rings, c c, or other convenient and common means may be employed to pack the piston E and stem F, and make them water or steam-tight within thenrespective cylinders. v

The end f 0i' the stem F is ground in conical or taper shape to form a valve, and vis fitted to a seat, a, in the pipe A.

A port or passage,'G, extends 'from one end tothe other of the chamber D G, so as to afford, when the',

cessful working of the apparatus, owing to the cavity* behind the piston in the cylinder C, which commun1-l cates with the atmosphere through any required nurnber of apertures, c. prevents the possibility ot' any concussion within the service-pipes.

M represents a drip-aperture. This or any other well-known expedient may be employed, eitherwith or without waste, to empty the upper part of the hydrant whenever the discharge-cock K and valve f are closed.

A small valve, N or N is provided to open a communication through the secondary valvcfchanlbcr II when it is desired to permit the movement of' the pistou E and consequent opening ot the valve j.

The valve N may be seated at the outer end ot'a tube, O, communicating'with the interior ot' the cylinder O, as shown in fig. 1, thc said valve being operated either by connection with the cock K, or independent-ly thereof.

Or, if preferred, a valve, N', 'may be seated in the head ofthe valve-chamber H, the said valve being held toits seat by a spiral spring, as shown in lig. and rctracted bya wire or wire-cord, Q, passing around a pnlley, P, at each elbow or bend ol" the pipe,l and either attached to .the discharge-cock K or operated independently thereof', as preferlod.

Fig. 4 shows how any number of these wires or cords may be connected in branching pipes, so that a single.

automatic piston-valve, E F j, may be controlled-t. e.,

permitted to open-by anyone ot any number of discharge-cocks. 4

lf A similar arrai-igement ofthe tubes 0 may be provided when the said,tubes are employed.

Operation.

The parts being in the closed condition represei'ited in iig. 2, if it is desired to make the water flow, the cock K and valve N or N are opened, permitting Water to escape from the chamber-in front of the piston E. 'Ihe said piston being thus relieved of pressure, is moved forward, with the stem F, by the pressure of water in the pipe A against the valve f. The ports of the valves f and I are thusopened simultaneously, per- The play of the piston itself thus mitting a free flow of water through the apparatus from the mains and pipe A. l It will be apparent that whichever of the branch wires Q Q is drawn on to open the valve N', or \v hichever branch'of the tubes O may be opened by the lift ing of its valve N, the eiect will be the same upon the piston E, and the opening of the valve f will follow, causing the filling ot' as many of the service-branches B B as the regulator E F G may be employed to coutrol. Any other cocks being opened while the first is flowing, will operate precisely as if they only were opened at the time, so that the opening or closing ot' any cock, or any number together, does not affect the others.

stops, the reaction of the water against the face of the piston E, overcoming the pressure against the smaller area of the valve f, forces said valve back upon its seat,

to close its ports in the chamber I. p thus cut off from the service-pipes BB, and in the case of' the hydrant shown in gs. l and 2, thewater may be allowed to p ass out or below the level of the ground, as before'explained.

.1 When the apparatus is used simply as a pressure.- rcgulatoig the valve and chamber H I and the valve N or N' and its connections may be entirely dispensed with. v

The piston-valve E F will then open whenever the discharge-cock 'is opened, and close when the latter is closed, and will at all-times automatically reducethe ton-Valve E F, 'forpcrmitting the latter to open in the manner described.

4. The valve N', of any required size, when opel'- ated bv wires Q, substantially as herein explained.

JOHN C." HAGAN.

'itucsses:

OorAvlU-s KNIGHT, H. C. ELLIOTT.

v VVheuevcr all the cocks are closed so that the flow pressure in the service-pipes B in relation to that in and at the same time the valve H is drawn back so asf` f The pressure is' tions O or Q, in combination with the combined pis-1l I 

